March 11, 2011, Friday, an 8-9 magnitude earthquake hits Japan at 2:46pm (local time). It is said that it is the most powerful earthquake to hit Japan in at least 100 years. The horrific earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami. Reports says that the huge deadly wave was measured at 23 feet tall (7 meters). There were countless injuries and undetermined number of deaths and hundreds were missing.. Tsunami warnings were also in effect in part of the Philippines, Guam, Taiwan, Russia, Indonesia, Peru, Hawaii, Marcus Islands and Marianas Islands. According to Reuters, Geneva Red Cross warned that the wave could be higher than those in the Pacific Islands. In the Philippines, people living near the coastal areas were asked to evacuate the area. As of the time of writing this article, some of the areas given tsunami warnings have already experienced first waves.
There were 30 recorded aftershocks in Japan with a 7.1 magnitude as the highest.
Kyodo news agency reported that Japanese Government had already dispatched a total of 8,000 troops to assist in recovery and they also asked for U.S. military assistance.
Videos of the tsunami were shown on different television stations showing sea vessels and cars and debris rode off the high waves and slammed on structures.
Firefighters battled over a large fire at Cosmo Oil Refinery in Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture. It was burning out of control with over 30 meters of high flames.
Japan shut several nuclear power reactors including those operated by Tokyo Power Electric Company, Tohoku Electric Power Company, and Japan Atomic Power Company causing millions of homes without electricity.
USGS said that this quake was the 5th strongest in history since 1900.
sources: www.digitaltrend.com
www.bbc.com.uk
www.cnn.com
www.eturbonews.com
www.yahoo.com
www.bloomberg.com
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